


Healing

by madders



Series: Out Of Gas AU [8]
Category: Firefly
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-11
Updated: 2012-07-11
Packaged: 2017-11-09 16:07:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madders/pseuds/madders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follows on from "Return," "Wait," "Interlude," "Stay," "Back" and "Talk"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Healing

Mal limped up to the bridge, ignoring the disapproving look he was getting from Zoë and the concern on Wash’s face. He carefully maneuvered around Zoë to settle in the co-pilot’s seat and look out at the black in front of him.

The damn Doctor had kept him cooped up in the infirmary for far too long, and he’d begun to forget what the black looked like. But now he was healed enough that Simon didn’t have a reason to hold him no more, so he’d let him leave after a long list of rules that he didn’t listen to and didn’t even pretend he was gonna follow. Simon may be a good doc, but that didn’t give him no right to tell Mal what to do on his own gorram ship, no matter what he thought.

“Mal? How are you feeling?” Wash asked, with a concerned smile.

“I’m fine,” Mal replied tersely, with the voice of someone who was fed up to the back teeth of being asked the very same thing again and again.

“How we doing Zoë?” he asked, looking to his second in command.

“Good Sir,” she replied, knowing better than to coddle him “we’re on our way back to ‘sephone, Badger’s got another job for us,” she informed him.

“That’s good,” Mal replied with a hint of a frown. “So long as it don’t end in no swordfights,” he added.

“I’m sure it won’t Sir,” Zoë smiled.

“Yeah, ‘m pretty sure you’re banned from all those kind of festivities anyhow,” Wash added with a grin.

“Hey!” Mal complained, affronted. “I’ll have you know that I am not. Sir Warwick said he’d be glad to have me back anytime. Liked how I livened things up,” he told them, crossing his arms and wincing as the movement pulled at his wound.

“Sure Mal,” Wash replied, “but are you really wanting to go to another one?”

Mal shuddered a little. “No way,” he stated forcefully, “Lessen they pay me a helluva lot more than what we got out of that job. Damn thing’s worse ‘n a circus.”

Wash snorted in amusement and Zoë cracked a smile as Jayne came up on the bridge behind them.

“What’s worse ‘n a circus?” he asked, moving to stand behind Mal. He reached up with his hand and gently rested it on Mal’s shoulder for a moment, touching him as if convincing himself that he was real. Mal tipped his head back and looked at him with a small smile, seemingly knowing exactly what was going on in Jayne’s head and not minding one bit.

“Those shindig’s on ‘Sephone” he replied. “Badger’s got a job fer us and I was saying it were fine so long as it didn’t involve going to another gorram party,” Mal shuddered and Jayne laughed.

“Damn right. You ain’t goin’ to ‘nother one ‘f those without me there to watch you,” Jayne replied with a grin.

“Dunno ‘bout that none,” Mal replied. “’Less you’re planning on going as my companion.” He quirked a half smile at Jayne before continuing. “Dunno if I can get lil Kaylee to part with her frock though, ‘n it’d need a fair ‘mount of adjusting ‘n all; but…” he ran his gaze up and down Jayne’s figure. “Mebbe I can get Kaylee to bring it up so you can model it for me,” he grinned again, breaking into hearty laughter as Jayne punched him gently on the arm.

Zoë and Wash shared a look as Mal and Jayne laughed, both smiling secretively at the way Jayne remembered not to punch Mal hard in case he pulled the stitches.

The two men had never been overly demonstrative with each other in front of the crew before, but it seemed as if something had changed. Ever since Jayne had discovered Mal lying up here on the bridge, he had been a lot more unguarded around the others when it came to Mal. At first Zoë and Wash had dismissed it as shock from Mal’s near-death that had made him temporarily change, his need to be near and touch regardless of who was around simply a response to almost losing him.

Even when Mal had woken up, they had passed it off as relief, and waited for things to go back to how they were before. But then when Mal hadn’t complained, and had in fact encouraged and returned his open affections, Zoë and Wash had been forced to look at Mal and Jayne’s relationship again.

The married pair both knew that there was more to Mal and Jayne’s relationship than a quick tumble, over time they had both been privy to watching the two of them develop a strange kind of friendship and a grudging sense of trust.

As much as they sniped at each other, they had each come to trust the other with their safety, even when most people around them didn’t. Zoë remembered taking Jayne on the ship, and expecting Mal to drop him as soon as he could; but it seemed as though Mal had seen something in Jayne that no-one else could. He had an uncanny knack for that.

Every one of their friends and contacts warned Mal not to trust Jayne, to drop him soon as he could, because a man that would turn a gun on his boss once; would do it again at the drop of a hat.

But Mal simply smiled and nodded, telling them he’d see, and then gone ahead and taken Jayne with him anyway, like nothing had happened. There’d been a few close scrapes, both with and without Zoë there, but somehow they’d come out of them time and again, busted and bruised, more often than not, but somehow closer still.

Eventually, along with everything else came an odd kind of affection between the two of them. It wasn’t like Zoë and Wash’s relationship, or like any other they had known, it was often bordering on insane, the way they treated and spoke about each other. But somehow- it just worked.

Like now. When Mal was obviously in pain, easy to see by the way he was clutching the armrest with one hand, the other wrapped tight around his stomach. Not that you could tell from his face, which still had a grin firmly in place. But Mal wasn’t about to admit that he was hurting, because that would mean admitting that Simon had been correct in telling him that his body wasn’t ready for too much activity.

Jayne saw it as clear as Zoë could, only difference he was able to do something about it without getting his head bitten off.

“Hey Mal?” he spoke softly.

“Mmmm?” Mal replied, slightly drowsy now from overexertion.

“Kaylee’s been looking for you,” he told him.

Mal turned in his seat and looked up at him, instantly alert once more.

“Serenity okay?” he asked, concerned, barely able to hide his wince as he stood.

“I dunno, think so,” he answered with a shrug. “Didn’t sound all that urgent or none, just she mentioned wanting a word is all.”

Mal nodded and moved stiffly towards the exit of the bridge, Jayne following behind.

“Let me know before we hit atmo!” Mal called back to Wash as he struggled down the stairs. Jayne glanced at Zoë and grinned widely at her before quickly schooling his features as Mal turned back towards him for a moment.

Jayne hurried after him; catching up to him just before they passed Mal’s quarters,gently stilling him and pulling him close.

Zoë and Wash never looked back at them, but they had matching grins on their faces when they heard the whispered words between the two men, before the distinctive sound of one of the bunk doors opening.

A rustle of fabric and a half stifled groan was the only thing they heard after that, before the clang of the bunk hatch closing once more.

Only then, when both men were out of sight and earshot; did Wash and Zoë allow their laughter to break free, the happy sound filling the bridge.


End file.
